When I was a kid
I was never an easy child to handle. I gave my parents lots of headache. I showed sour faces whenever I got told off or when I didn't like anything. My parents hated my sour faces but I still made faces to irritate them. That's me, when I was younger.
I remember vividly what Daddy told me one day at the dining table during dinner. Mommy complained to Daddy that I refused to do revision after school. Daddy, a man with few words, said to me: 'Jie (sister), if you don't want to study, you don't have to. Daddy will get you a cow and you can take care of it at the backyard'. Everyone remained quiet after that.
Daddy doesn't like us watching tele. He thinks it's a waste of time to follow canto shows but Mei mei and I were addicted to the series. Whenever Daddy came back from work and saw us watching TV, he sighed. Once, he told Mei mei- 'Mei, since you like to watch TV, Daddy will get you a job in the censorship department so you can watch TV all day long'.
My parents have high expectations for the 3 of us- my sister, my brother and I. I, being the eldest, am suppose to be the role model for my 2 younger siblings. I got scolding for the tiniest mistake I made. Whenever I got rebellious, Mommy would be the one armed with the cane. When I saw the cane, a Tom-and-Jerry scene automatically happened. Mommy was the Tom, I was the Jerry. I ran up and down the stairs, in and out the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen while Mommy chased me. Mommy didn't cane me on my palm. Instead, she caned me all over my body and legs. After that, she would tell me: I'll send you for swimming so everyone knows you've been caned by Mommy! If this happened when Daddy was at home, I was doomed. Daddy would lay his right palm on cheeks. After the chase-and-run session, I would either end up in the toilet or on my bed. Normally, toilet would be my first choice because I could lock myself up and cried my hearts out while cursing Daddy and Mommy for loving Mei mei and Didi more. If I ended up in the bedroom, I cried myself to sleep- a good excuse for me to take an afternoon nap too. Come to think about it, I got the most beating from Mommy and Daddy. Mei mei was caned by Mommy too, but lesser. Didi's the luckiest- he never tasted how 'pedas' Mommy's cane was. That doesn't mean he's the most obedient child- Mommy realised that caning us doesn't get anywhere. (I swear she told me that) Instead, she used the 'make-you-feel-guilty'method.
My childhood isn't that sad. I had my fair share of joy too.
When I was still the only child, family day was on Friday. Daddy used to bring us to the beach. Sometimes, we went to Pantai Cinta Berahi (Currently known as Pantai Cahaya Bulan), sometimes we ended up at Bachok beach or even Sabak beach. Then, the beach was much cleaner. While Daddy and Mommy sat under the coconut tree, my imaginary friend and I entertained ourselves with 'masak-masak'. Occasionally, Mommy would make sand castle with me. When I was lucky, I would go home with a starfish or crabs. I remember when I ran out of sea water, I would add water and lots of salt, thinking the starfish or crab could survive as long as the water is salty. How silly of me! Not surprisingly, the crab or starfish died after a few days. As I grow older, Daddy got busier with his work. Naturally, he had lesser time for us. We stopped going to the beach after my brother was about 2 or 3.
That's when I was a kid. I was pampered and I was caned, slapped and scolded. But that makes me who I am today. :)
I remember vividly what Daddy told me one day at the dining table during dinner. Mommy complained to Daddy that I refused to do revision after school. Daddy, a man with few words, said to me: 'Jie (sister), if you don't want to study, you don't have to. Daddy will get you a cow and you can take care of it at the backyard'. Everyone remained quiet after that.
Daddy doesn't like us watching tele. He thinks it's a waste of time to follow canto shows but Mei mei and I were addicted to the series. Whenever Daddy came back from work and saw us watching TV, he sighed. Once, he told Mei mei- 'Mei, since you like to watch TV, Daddy will get you a job in the censorship department so you can watch TV all day long'.
My parents have high expectations for the 3 of us- my sister, my brother and I. I, being the eldest, am suppose to be the role model for my 2 younger siblings. I got scolding for the tiniest mistake I made. Whenever I got rebellious, Mommy would be the one armed with the cane. When I saw the cane, a Tom-and-Jerry scene automatically happened. Mommy was the Tom, I was the Jerry. I ran up and down the stairs, in and out the bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen while Mommy chased me. Mommy didn't cane me on my palm. Instead, she caned me all over my body and legs. After that, she would tell me: I'll send you for swimming so everyone knows you've been caned by Mommy! If this happened when Daddy was at home, I was doomed. Daddy would lay his right palm on cheeks. After the chase-and-run session, I would either end up in the toilet or on my bed. Normally, toilet would be my first choice because I could lock myself up and cried my hearts out while cursing Daddy and Mommy for loving Mei mei and Didi more. If I ended up in the bedroom, I cried myself to sleep- a good excuse for me to take an afternoon nap too. Come to think about it, I got the most beating from Mommy and Daddy. Mei mei was caned by Mommy too, but lesser. Didi's the luckiest- he never tasted how 'pedas' Mommy's cane was. That doesn't mean he's the most obedient child- Mommy realised that caning us doesn't get anywhere. (I swear she told me that) Instead, she used the 'make-you-feel-guilty'method.
My childhood isn't that sad. I had my fair share of joy too.
When I was still the only child, family day was on Friday. Daddy used to bring us to the beach. Sometimes, we went to Pantai Cinta Berahi (Currently known as Pantai Cahaya Bulan), sometimes we ended up at Bachok beach or even Sabak beach. Then, the beach was much cleaner. While Daddy and Mommy sat under the coconut tree, my imaginary friend and I entertained ourselves with 'masak-masak'. Occasionally, Mommy would make sand castle with me. When I was lucky, I would go home with a starfish or crabs. I remember when I ran out of sea water, I would add water and lots of salt, thinking the starfish or crab could survive as long as the water is salty. How silly of me! Not surprisingly, the crab or starfish died after a few days. As I grow older, Daddy got busier with his work. Naturally, he had lesser time for us. We stopped going to the beach after my brother was about 2 or 3.
That's when I was a kid. I was pampered and I was caned, slapped and scolded. But that makes me who I am today. :)
